last weekend I talked to a guy who swaped a Diesel engine in to his gas VW Rabbit, as he explaned it was extreamly simple, as the Diesel engine only uses a fraction of the wires, has a mecanical engine mounted fuel pump, and I belive he said it bolted right in, of course you need a transmition from the diesel as well for the proper gearing (unless you want to use it as a tractor), so I got to wondering, how hard is it to swap in a newer diesel engine in to say a VW gulf? I know that once you get in to things like the new TDI VW's that things get extreamly complecated due to them being a drive by wire system, but how about those older TDI engines? or just the normal turbo diesel vw engines, I think it's worth thinking about, espsialy if you drive distances, and are having truble finding a small diesel car, junk yards seem to want $250-800 for an engine.

Well, since this is a bit of the origin of my handle on here, lemme think. All the golfs are an evolution of the rabbit; all the tdis are an evolution of the original 48 hp diesel beatbox. I imagine they continued to use the same engine mounts and such things for the different engine throughout the years (unless they really suck), and therefore, since I do believe it's possible to put an MKIV engine in a MKI, you could prolly put the MKII TD in there by using some sort of mount kit, same goes for the TDi. Of course, I'm not sure, but this is just how I'm reasoning it out.

I'm pretty sure that (2.5 years ago) when I was into the rabbits I'd seen people with the new tdi in there. It's a good platform, cheap, light (~1800-1900 pounds) and who cares if you beat it up,

Generally, there are three types of vw diesel. NA IDIs, Turbo IDIs (TDs), and TDIs, the NAs are all 1.6l and the TDIs are all 1.9L, the turbo diesels come in both sizes.. To avoid lots of crap with the drive by wire system you can pull a mechanical injector pump/cable off of a 1.9l TD which will go straight to the pedal for a mechanically injected TDI. You also need the passenger(?) side engine mount from the factory, but it bolts right up to the other three. I've heard it's nicer to keep the fly by wire and ECU because you can have on the fly fuel map changes. You gain something like 40hp and 15-20mpg, nice swap.

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Originally Posted by FormulaTwo

I think if i could get that type of FE i would have no problem driving a dildo shaped car.

A chipped TDI in a Rabbit modified for around 180 horsepower would be pretty wicked. Prius fuel economy, Corvette performance.

Do extensive aeromods, and fuel economy would rise even higher. I know of an individual with a diesel Rabbit pursuing extensive aeromods. Stock engine, but hopes to exceed 80 mpg. I'd say his goal is pretty realistic. He intends to grow various plants to make his own biodiesel.

While this is off topic, you'd have to know this person to understand why. There is a significant number of people who see peak oil as being so potentially devasting, that fuel for their cars may be unobtainable in the near future. In which case, far more motorists would be using fryer oil than today and obtaining it would be difficult, if not expensive. Fryer oil can't supply everyone.

In preparation for this scenario, being able to make your own fuel makes sense.

Whether peak oil will be that severe I cannot say, but it is a very real possibility and shouldn't be dismissed.

If I had my own land, I'd gladly grow hemp for the purpose of making biofuels. Get me a set of solar panels, a wind generator, and a diesel generator, and I'd be set. The wind and solar could provide electricity, with a set of batteries and the diesel generator acting as intermittent backup. Charge the EV with electricity, and if the sun isn't shining or wind not blowing, the hemp biodiesel can be used to make electricity. 100% renewable, cheaper than grid electricity, running the battery car cheaper than any gas car(including battery replacement). Would pay itself off in savings in only a few years.

I dunno... 180whp@4000rpm and ~270ftlbs@1800-2500rpm? That's a very nice powerband to work with. Considering the Rabbit weighs in at ~2000lbs stock, while the Corvette is someplace above 3000lbs, we're starting to get pretty close in power to weight ratios. If we strip the bunny down to 1500lbs, and toss a hundred pounds of cinder blocks over the really sticky front tires, things would be interesting. But that's not really practical and ultimately, the Rabbit's 1/4 mile weakness comes because of it's fwd layout. What I would bet money on is a diesel Audi 4000 with vw's I5 TDI. It weighs about the same, has better handling/traction because its rwd, and has a lower CdA, along with a close ratio transmission.... Granted it couldn't do much in stock form, but if the I5 TDI drops in there, and if the transmission can take it, it could be one fun car.

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Originally Posted by FormulaTwo

I think if i could get that type of FE i would have no problem driving a dildo shaped car.

I'm just deflating on him, because I think most of the power/fe numbers he cites as easily attainable are way out there.

Anyway, I saw a crx the other day, prolly pushing around 300whp and 250wtq and it only ran high 11s. That thing's light and more aerodynamic than a rabbit , not to mention I give more credit to it's suspension and whatnot.